Journal
NEURON
Volume 70, Issue 4, Pages 742-757Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.04.002
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Funding
- NIH [5R01 NS048392]
- W.M. Keck Foundation
- International Human Frontier Science Program Organization
- Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health
- American Heart Association
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The assembly and maturation of neural circuits require a delicate balance between synapse formation and elimination. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that coordinate synaptogenesis and synapse elimination are poorly understood. In C. elegans, DD moto-neurons respecify their synaptic connectivity during development by completely eliminating existing synapses and forming new synapses without changing cell morphology. Using loss- and gain-of-function genetic approaches, we demonstrate that CYY-1, a cyclin box-containing protein, drives synapse removal in this process. In addition, cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK-5) facilitates new synapse formation by regulating the transport of synaptic vesicles to the sites of synaptogenesis. Furthermore, we show that coordinated activation of UNC-104/Kine-sin3 and Dynein is required for patterning newly formed synapses. During the remodeling process, presynaptic components from eliminated synapses are recycled to new synapses, suggesting that signaling mechanisms and molecular motors link the deconstruction of existing synapses and the assembly of new synapses during structural synaptic plasticity.
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